Aspiration Training’s summary – The Chancellors Budget

Monday 29 October, The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond announced his Autumn Budget. We’ve highlighted a few key areas which are relevant to our industry, employers and learners.

The national minimum wage for apprentices will rise again in April, from £3.70 to £3.90 per hour. The 20 pence extra is a 5.4 per cent rise and follows last year’s increase from £3.50 after the Chancellor accepted recommendations from the independent Low Pay Commission. The jump to £3.90 is above inflation and larger by proportion than all other minimum-wage groups. For 18- to 20-year-olds, the increase is from £5.90 per hour to £6.15, while 16- to 17-year-olds will see their minimum wage go up from £4.20 per hour to £4.35. And for 21- to 24-year-olds, it is going up from £7.38 per hour to £7.70.

The 10 per cent fee that small businesses must pay when they take on apprentices will be halved, the chancellor has announced. Philip Hammond revealed in his Budget speech last week that SMEs will only have to contribute 5 per cent towards the training. No fixed date has been decided on yet and no decision as to whether this applies to levy paying employers who have spent their levy pot

No new money to increase core funding for the education of 16- to 18-year-olds.” “Spending on further and adult education has already fallen by £3.3 billion in real terms,” said Gordon Marsden, shadow skills minister. The Budget has “made it clear that the prime minister’s promise to end austerity will not extend to colleges,” he added.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency has revealed plans to tighten up rules for training providers wanting to get on to its apprenticeships register and kick off those who aren’t delivering. Keith Smith, the agency’s director of apprenticeships, told the AELP autumn conference this week that the new beefed-up register of apprenticeship training providers will open “within weeks, possibly sooner” and will then stay open indefinitely.

The thousands of training providers already on the register will be asked to reapply, in segments which will be “divided into groups” over the next 12 months. These groups will be focused on risk, with “high-risk” providers having to reapply first. There is going to be a much stronger emphasis on quality. There will also be greater scrutiny of providers getting on the RoATP. Companies must have traded for at least 12 months in order to be eligible for application and must provide a full set of accounts.

In response to the budget Aspiration Training CEO, Iain Salisbury said:

Anything the government can do to promote Apprenticeships and make them more accessible is welcomed. The change to the co-investment rate will be a welcome boost to some employers, but we believe that the government should go further and fully fund all 16-18 Apprenticeships regardless of employer size.